Is CSR a performance lever for companies?

Faced with the climate emergency and current societal and economic challenges, CSR responds to large-scale issues and is an essential commitment for companies of all sizes and in all sectors.

But beyond the social and environmental benefits, such an approach can also be a powerful lever for the economic, commercial and operational performance of organizations.

 

CSR: definition, challenges and benefits

CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) is a concept that consists of integrating, on a voluntary basis, “social and environmental concerns into one’s business activities and relations with stakeholders” (according to the definition of the European Commission).

A CSR approach therefore refers to all the actions taken by an organization to contribute to the challenges of sustainable development. These actions can be economic, environmental or social (reducing one’s impact on the planet, participating in the solidarity economy, promoting social inclusion and equity, improving the quality of life at work of one’s employees, etc.).

 

What are the advantages of adopting a CSR approach for the company?

In addition to responding to current social and environmental concerns, CSR can also directly benefit the company

Adopting a CSR policy is indeed a powerful lever for the company’s performance, in many respects:

• Reducing water and electricity consumption allows you to better control your operating costs;
• Reducing waste, food waste and promoting recycling means less waste;
• Promoting well-being at work boosts the productivity and efficiency of teams and thus improves operational performance;
• Committing to society and adopting environmentally friendly practices makes it possible to enhance the company’s brand image with stakeholders (customers, suppliers, service providers, business partners, etc.) and thus improve commercial performance.
• CSR also makes it possible to improve the employer brand, attract talent, strengthen employee engagement and buy-in and reduce turnover and absenteeism;
• …

Depending on the actions put in place, corporate social responsibility can therefore be a real driver for the company’s performance, whether on a human, commercial, financial level, etc.

Implementing a CSR policy requires the organization to carry out an in-depth analysis of the existing situation, an inventory of its strengths and weaknesses, its mode of governance, its type of management, its organizational culture, etc.

This allows the company to take a step back, to question itself, to optimize and improve its internal practices, which directly contributes to boosting the company’s overall performance and reducing costs (recruitment, production, operation, etc.).

In addition, adopting a CSR policy helps the company to develop its agility, its sense of innovation and its capacity for resilience in times of crisis. It is also a significant asset to distinguish yourself from other market players and Strengthen its competitive advantage.

According to a CSR report carried out by France Stratégie, there is a 13% gap between the economic performance of a company implementing CSR actions and the performance of a company without a CSR policy.

 

How can CSR be used to improve your company’s performance?

In order for CSR to benefit the social, economic and operational performance of the company, it is necessary to carry out an in-depth CSR diagnosis beforehand. This audit aims to analyse the CSR actions already implemented, their impacts and their benefits. It also makes it possible to define the most relevant actions in relation to the sector of activity, the size of the company (SMEs, VSEs, large companies, large groups, etc.), its resources, its commercial positioning, etc.

In addition, in order to assess the impact of CSR on the company’s economic results, it will be very wise to define CSR performance indicators (CSR label, carbon footprint, energy consumption, absenteeism rate, gender parity, productivity rate, etc.).

It will also be necessary to appoint a CSR and sustainable development manager, who will be responsible for supervising actions and reporting to management.

Here is a non-exhaustive list of some CSR actions that can directly contribute to the company’s performance:

• Make responsible purchases from actors committed to social inclusion or environmental protection;
• Use short circuits;
• Offer equal pay for men and women to its employees;
• Organize teambuilding events, seminars, conferences and other activities to strengthen ties, improve the well-being and productivity of employees;
• Create workspaces conducive to quality of life, concentration and productivity;
• Ensure compliance with hygiene, health and safety rules at work;
• Guarantee quality management aligned with international standards;
• Offer less polluting transport to your teams (carpooling for example);
• Create eco-design facilities (vegetable gardens, beehives, etc.);
• Reducing environmental impacts across the entire supply chain (cf. the official CSR standard in logistics , aligned with ISO 26,000 standards);
• Adopt environmental management at all levels of the company;
• Offer teleworking to its employees ;
• …

 

To find out more, read our article: ” All the steps to implement a CSR approach in your company “.